The Day And Hour Of The 2nd Coming

In your reply to the question about a May 21, 2011 rapture you wrote, “But three times between Matt. 24:36 and Matt 25:13 the Lord said the day and hour of the 2nd Coming would not be known in advance.” Would you please give me the specific scripture where it says that the day and the hour would not be known in advance? I have just reread those verses several times, and I see twice that we are told to watch! Why should we watch if we cannot know, as you wrote? All I see is that Jesus said that only God knew the time at that time when He (Jesus) spoke those words. Jesus did not say that no-one would know in advance, ever.

A

In the first place we (the Church) are not being told anything because when the Lord said, “No one knows about that day or hour” (Matt. 24:36) He was speaking about the time of His 2nd Coming. The rapture will have already taken place. We know this because everything after Matt: 24:29 will happen after the Great Tribulation had ended.

As for the verses to which I was referring, in Matt. 24:42 Jesus said, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Two verses later in Matt. 24:44 He said, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Since we’re talking about a day and hour here, I count these as one.

Then in Matt. 24:50 he said, “The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.”

And in Matt. 25:13 He said, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

The context in which these comments were made tells us they were neither intended for the disciples there with Him, nor were they meant for the church. They are for the people who will still be alive when the Great Tribulation comes to an end.

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Jack Kelley published over 9,000 Bible Study resources here from 1999, until the Lord called him home in the fall of 2015. His teachings made the Bible clear and easy to understand, and impacted millions of lives. He is the author of all the teachings here, and all materials are available free of charge! His wife Samantha maintains this site as well as their missionary outreaches.